TWO SKETCHBOOKS BY R. CRUMB AND HIS BROTHERS. 2 items: Autograph Manuscript Signed ("R. Crumb"), 34 pp recto and verso, 4to, Philadelphia and Cleveland, September 24, 1962 to October 13, 1962, being a sketchbook kept by Crumb during his move from his hometown to Cleveland, containing sketches and diary entries, some toning and smudging to leaves, housed in composition book, some staining and water damage to upper cover. * Autograph Manuscript Signed ("M. Crumb," "Chuck Crumb," and "Robert Crumb"), 56 pp recto and verso, 4to, Philadelphia, June 7, 1962 to July 21, 1962, containing sketches by all three brothers and diary entries by Charles and Maxon Crumb, pages toned and smudged, housed in composition book, wear to surface and spine. R. Crumb, the influential underground cartoonist whose provocative drawings made him the darling of the 1960s anti-establishment movement, was born in Philadelphia the third of five children. He began drawing cartoons not out of his own interests, but because his older, unstable brother Charles bullied him into it. Robert's talents, however, soon outdistanced Charles, a factor which precipitated the older brother's breakdown. These two sketchbooks date from a pivotal time in the life of R. Crumb: the months before and during his move to Cleveland. The earlier, collaborative sketch book contains diary entries recording Maxon's suicidal thoughts, portraits of attractive women (Barb, Ruth Sophie, Mabel, and Jackie), cartoons of frog- and cat-like figures, short stories by Maxon, a cartoon of Bob "Gargoyle" Crumb, one page of "Animal Town Comics" by Robert and Charles Crumb, a "cat family tree," and a 9 pp "Fritz the Cat" strip. The later volume, titled "Arcade / October 1962 / Number twenty-seven" on the first leaf, features copies of letters by "Sandra," doodles of faces and figures, portraits of pretty girls, a surrealist depiction of Mickey Mouse, a portrait of "Sandra the cynic," journal entries written on the bus taken to Cleveland, and drafts of Robert's letters to Charles. From October 8, 1962: "I'm heading for Cleveland. No changes, thank God. Saying good-bye to Mother at the terminal was a very sad affair. I was almost in tears about it. She loves me and seems to need e desperately. As she said, us kids are all she has in life. We kissed a couple of times and I waved to her as the bus pulled out. What a tragic figure she was, standing there waving, with her sunglasses on, and headscarf and black coat. I wish I had hugged her and given her some ernest [sic], real affection before getting on this bus. It leaves me feeling frustrated, unfulfilled, and I won't see her again for maybe a long time. Oh mother! I feel such love and compassion for you, but I am unable to do anything about it. I'm helpless to relieve your sad, desperate plight! Her and dad were arguing violently this morning. That's one thing I'm glad to be getting away from. It fills me with utter sadness and despair."
TWO SKETCHBOOKS BY R. CRUMB AND HIS BROTHERS. 2 items: Autograph Manuscript Signed ("R. Crumb"), 34 pp recto and verso, 4to, Philadelphia and Cleveland, September 24, 1962 to October 13, 1962, being a sketchbook kept by Crumb during his move from his hometown to Cleveland, containing sketches and diary entries, some toning and smudging to leaves, housed in composition book, some staining and water damage to upper cover. * Autograph Manuscript Signed ("M. Crumb," "Chuck Crumb," and "Robert Crumb"), 56 pp recto and verso, 4to, Philadelphia, June 7, 1962 to July 21, 1962, containing sketches by all three brothers and diary entries by Charles and Maxon Crumb, pages toned and smudged, housed in composition book, wear to surface and spine. R. Crumb, the influential underground cartoonist whose provocative drawings made him the darling of the 1960s anti-establishment movement, was born in Philadelphia the third of five children. He began drawing cartoons not out of his own interests, but because his older, unstable brother Charles bullied him into it. Robert's talents, however, soon outdistanced Charles, a factor which precipitated the older brother's breakdown. These two sketchbooks date from a pivotal time in the life of R. Crumb: the months before and during his move to Cleveland. The earlier, collaborative sketch book contains diary entries recording Maxon's suicidal thoughts, portraits of attractive women (Barb, Ruth Sophie, Mabel, and Jackie), cartoons of frog- and cat-like figures, short stories by Maxon, a cartoon of Bob "Gargoyle" Crumb, one page of "Animal Town Comics" by Robert and Charles Crumb, a "cat family tree," and a 9 pp "Fritz the Cat" strip. The later volume, titled "Arcade / October 1962 / Number twenty-seven" on the first leaf, features copies of letters by "Sandra," doodles of faces and figures, portraits of pretty girls, a surrealist depiction of Mickey Mouse, a portrait of "Sandra the cynic," journal entries written on the bus taken to Cleveland, and drafts of Robert's letters to Charles. From October 8, 1962: "I'm heading for Cleveland. No changes, thank God. Saying good-bye to Mother at the terminal was a very sad affair. I was almost in tears about it. She loves me and seems to need e desperately. As she said, us kids are all she has in life. We kissed a couple of times and I waved to her as the bus pulled out. What a tragic figure she was, standing there waving, with her sunglasses on, and headscarf and black coat. I wish I had hugged her and given her some ernest [sic], real affection before getting on this bus. It leaves me feeling frustrated, unfulfilled, and I won't see her again for maybe a long time. Oh mother! I feel such love and compassion for you, but I am unable to do anything about it. I'm helpless to relieve your sad, desperate plight! Her and dad were arguing violently this morning. That's one thing I'm glad to be getting away from. It fills me with utter sadness and despair."
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
